Lincoln Riley’s team moved up in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time this season.

After rebounding from their first loss in more than a year, the Oklahoma Sooners (10-1, 7-1) are back among the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings and find themselves at No. 10 going into the final weekend of the regular season. Up next for OU comes a highly anticipated trip to Stillwater where the No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowboys await what could very well be the first of back-to-back Bedlam contests for all the Big 12 Championship marbles.

Full CFP Top 25 Poll

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Cincinnati Bearcats
5. Michigan Wolverines
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7. Oklahoma State Cowboys
8. Baylor Bears
9. Ole Miss Rebels
10. Oklahoma Sooners
11. Oregon Ducks
12. Michigan State Spartans
13. BYU Cougars
14. Wisconsin Badgers
15. Texas A&M Aggies
16. Iowa Hawkeyes
17. Pittsburgh Panthers
18. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
19. Utah Utes
20. NC State Wolfpack
21. San Diego State Aztecs
22. UTSA Roadrunners
23. Clemson Tigers
24. Houston Cougars
25. Arkansas Razorbacks

Notes:

• As far as the playoffs are concerned, Oklahoma must beat Oklahoma State (twice) for any shot at a top four spot. When it comes to reaching the Big 12 Championship game, Lincoln Riley’s group controls its own destiny, but they could also punch their ticket to Arlington if the Texas Tech Red Raiders pull off an upset over Baylor in Waco prior to kick-off in Bedlam.
• Ohio State travels to Michigan for their annual rivalry game this Saturday. If you’re an OU fan looking for a path to the playoffs, your best bet would be to root for the Buckeyes to defeat the Wolverines, otherwise, a two-loss OSU team could remain ahead of the Sooners come Selection Day.
• This Friday, Cincinnati will try to wrap up its bid for an undefeated regular season on the road against an already bowl eligible East Carolina squad. The Bearcats have shown a tendency to allow teams to stay close in a number of games this year, so keep an eye out for how this contest plays out down the stretch.
• With Oregon and Wake Forest both losing this past weekend, the Pac-12 and ACC are unofficially out of the running for this season’s College Football Playoff. That helps Cincy’s case for becoming the first Group of Five program to make the CFP, but Luke Fickell’s team probably needs a bit more help to secure a semifinal berth despite finally cracking the committee’s top four.
• Both Alabama and Notre Dame will be on the road this week — at Auburn and Stanford, respectively — and in this sport, something unexpected seemingly always happens when it’s least expected to. That said, should either the Tide or the Irish falter in their regular season finales, that would potentially go a long way toward clearing an even wider path for Oklahoma’s playoff hopes. All I’m saying is buckle up, folks.

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